Crepes Normandes Recipes

THE BEST CREPES

Steps:

• Add the milk, eggs, flour, sugar, vanilla and salt to a blender. Puree on high speed until completely smooth and slightly thickened and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the melted butter and puree until incorporated, 30 seconds more. Let the batter rest in the blender carafe for at least 1 hour at room temperature or refrigerate up to 24 hours. The longer you allow the batter to rest and hydrate, the lighter and softer the texture of the crepes will be; overnight is ideal.
• Before cooking, re-blend the batter at high speed for 30 seconds. This will reincorporate the ingredients, a vital step in getting an even golden color on the crepes. Wipe 1/2 teaspoon of oil on a large crepe pan or a 10-inch nonstick skillet with a paper towel. You don't want to see any drops of oil in the pan, just coat with the thinnest layer. Heat the pan over medium heat until hot.
• Ladle 1/4 cup batter into the pan. Working quickly off the heat, swirl and shake the pan to evenly coat the bottom with the batter. Return to the heat and cook the crepe, reducing the heat if it's browning too quickly, until the edges are light golden, about 2 minutes. Slide a spatula underneath to loosen the crepe and carefully flip it over. Cook on the other side until a few brown spots appear, 15 to 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter, wiping pan with oil each time. Stack the crepes on the plate as you go (you should have about 15 total). Let the crepes cool for 10 minutes before serving or filling.
• For fillings, we suggest Nutella and bananas or peanut butter and jelly for sweet crepes. Ham and cheese makes a great filling for savory crepes.

BASIC CREPES

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
• Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
• Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

CRêPES à LA NORMANDE

Steps:

• Whisk the all ingredients apart from the butter and apples with half the milk to combine, and then whisk in the rest of the milk to make a batter. Resist the temptation to use a blender as it will over-activate the gluten in the flour and stop the batter from running properly in the pan. Set aside for a while.
• Very lightly cook the apple slices in a pan with a little butter, just to soften them. Set aside.
• Heat the butter in a crêpe pan until foaming. Add a ladle of batter and spread out either by moving the pan or using a wooden spreader. Quickly add some apple slices in a nice pattern, and spread over a little more of the batter. Cook for few moments until browning, and then turn the pancake over in the pan to cook the other side. With crêpes Normande, this takes practice because the apples reduce the cohesively of the crêpe. If you can do a full flip, then this is a good skill to acquire. Don't worry if you mess it up - hide the error with a fold.
• Fold onto a plate once cooked and serve with ice cream or Chantilly cream.

CLASSIC CRêPES

Steps:

• Sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a medium-size bowl and make a well in the middle. Mix the milk and 100ml of water together. Break the eggs into the well and start whisking slowly. Add the milk and water in a steady stream, whisking constantly and gradually incorporating the flour as you do so.
• Whisk until the batter is smooth and all the flour has been incorporated. Set the batter aside to rest for 30 mins, then whisk the melted butter into the batter.
• Heat the pan over a medium heat. Very lightly grease the pan with melted butter. Using a ladle, pour roughly 2 tbsp of batter into the pan and swirl it around so the bottom of the pan is evenly coated. You want to use just enough batter to make a delicate, lacy pancake. Cook the pancake for about 45 secs on one side until golden and then using a palette knife or fish slice, flip the pancake over and cook the other side for about 30 secs until it freckles.
• Slide the pancake out of the pan and either serve immediately or stack on a plate with baking parchment in between. Continue until all the batter is used up.